The Montenegrin national basketball team has two more matches to play before the end of the Eurobasket qualifiers - our team will host Germany on Thursday (19) at the "M:tel Morača Hall" (free admission), and then play Sweden on Sunday (17.30:XNUMX).
On the eve of the final round of qualifiers, Boško Radović's team is in an ideal situation. Montenegro is 3-1, with a plus-28 point difference, so only a miracle needs to happen for Bojan Dubljević and his teammates to miss the upcoming European Championship. This will happen if Montenegro loses both matches, all teams are tied at 3-3, and ours has the weakest point difference.
And it is without captain Dubljević that the national team will end this qualifying cycle. As coach Radović said at today's press conference, the Nikšić native is missing this action for family reasons. There is also no Charlie Moore, who succeeded Kendrick Perry - basketball player Breogan injured his knee in December last year, so John Radebau, who played his last match for our national team in 2022, will play in his place.
The personnel problems don't end there - SC Derbija basketball player Igor Drobnjak injured his wrist in the Cup tournament, so his performance is questionable.
"It is certain that there will be no captain, Bojan Dubljević, who, for completely justified, family reasons, is not in a position to be with us. Charlie Moore is missing, and several players are questionable. And these are important players for our system, which we have been building for years. We played in various squads, but the guys who are constantly in the national team and who were there at times, gave their all, which is evident through the extraordinary results. As time goes on, we will see how great and significant those results were. We have created a great group of older players and younger ones who are joining. We know the rules, the atmosphere is great. We will try to prepare as best we can and play a great game in "Morača" against the favored Germany, whatever squad we have," Radović said at today's press conference.
DON'T MISS IT
Drobnjak missed the Cup final against Buducnost due to injury.
"Igor Drobnjak was injured in the super-hard F8 of the Montenegrin Cup, where three games are played in three days. We know that after the Cup, these 'windows' come, we see that in Spain, France, that F8 is played for five-six days. This super-hard Cup of ours has left its consequences. Drobnjak injured his wrist, we will see if anything can be done about it. Mur is injured, we only have Nikola Ivanovic as a natural playmaker. The rest are players in position two, who will also play in position one during the matches. All on the condition that Igor is unable to play," explained the coach.
The first match is against Germany. The current world champion comes to the "M:tel Morača Hall" with the strongest squad, with the exception of NBA players. Daniel Theis, who recently left the NBA, was also called up later, and will join Monaco.
"We are expecting a national team that is coming in the best possible lineup. All players are on the list, except for those who play in the NBA, and we will see exactly who will come before the game. This is a team that, even with this lineup, would be a candidate for a medal at the European Championship. We have a tough job ahead of us," said Radović.
Germany is at half-strength, after defeats to Sweden and Bulgaria.
"Germany has found itself in a situation where it has to win both games, both for the sake of placement and for the hat and the draw for the championship. It is important for all teams in the group from which position they will eventually go to the European Championship. We have not yet mathematically secured participation in the European Championship - we have two games ahead of us, as in the previous "window" which was important, and which we did not play at full strength. If we go to the European Championship, then victory in Bulgaria will be crucial," Radović assessed.
The selector doesn't want to deal with calculations.
"I wouldn't do any calculations, we're in the best situation right now, but we also have a schedule that means we have two tough games ahead of us. Sweden will be stronger in this game because of two players who didn't play in Podgorica, it will be a different team," Radović is cautious.
Montenegro played their last home game against Bulgaria in the "Bemax Arena", which was not filled to capacity. Therefore, the coach had a message for the fans.
"We played the previous game in the 'Bemax Arena'. I can't skip to say that the 'Bemax Arena' wasn't full, according to the data there were around 1.700 people. The name of the opponent is irrelevant - the match against Bulgaria is as important as this one with Germany. I would like the 'Morača' to be full, as it has been many times before. For the boys to have great support from the stands," said the coach.
CHANGE OF GENERATIONS
If Montenegro qualifies for the European Championship, and it is close to that goal, then the tournament hosted by Latvia, Cyprus, Poland and Finland will be the last major competition in the national team jersey for Bojan Dubljević, Nikola Ivanović, Vladimir Mihailović and Nemanja Radović. A generational change follows, with younger players coming in, led by Luka Bogavac and Đorđije Jovanović, among others, who are on the shortlist for these actions.
"It's good that the younger guys caught up with the older ones, to rise with them, to see what it's like, what the obligations are, what the behavior, approach, playing in the national team is like. It's not easy to come to the national team at the age of 20, to play important matches, and not have someone older to teach you. To have Bojan Dubljević, Nikola Ivanović, Vladimir Mihailović, Nemanja Radović... from whom you receive valuable advice. We coaches also learn from the players. The generational change will happen very soon. They grow up in clubs, most have serious roles, but the national team is an obligation," said Radović.
ERA NAKON PERRY
The match against Germany will be the first after parting ways with Kendrick Perry. The Unicaja basketball player marked a period in the national team, both with his games and his attitude, and the last duel he played, away against Bulgaria, was great.
It was expected that Charlie Moore would succeed Perry, but he was injured and will skip this gathering. And the coach said that after this action he will consider options regarding the player's naturalization.
"We are looking for an adequate solution for Peri. There are a few options, we will see that when the window ends. We will probably have to find a good solution by the next campaign, to try to compensate for Peri, who played at a high level, providing serious games. We took Muro, who was injured. There are several options for naturalizing the player, in the position of playmaker, but we will think about that when this 'window' ends," concluded Radović and dismissed the possibility of Peri returning to the national team.
The European Championship is scheduled from August 27 to September 14 in Latvia, Poland, Finland and Cyprus.
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